377 
THE WHITE WHALE 
hailed the Guernsey man to this effect, — that having a long towline 
in his boat, he would do what he could to help them by pulling out 
the lighter whale of the two from the ship’s side. While the French- 
man’s boats then were engaged in towing the ship one way, Stubb 
benevolently towed away at his whale the other way, ostentatiously 
slacking out a most unusually long towline. 
Presently a breeze sprang up; Stubb feigned to cast off from the 
whale; hoisting his boats, the Frenchman soon increased his distance, 
while the Pequod slid in between him and Stubb’s whale. Whereupon 
Stubb quickly pulled to the floating body, and hailing the Pequod to 
give notice of his intentions, at once proceeded to reap the fruit of 
his unrighteous cunning. Seizing his sharp boat-spade, he commenced 
an excavation in the body, a little behind the side fin. You would 
almost have thought he was digging a cellar there in the sea; and 
when at length his spade struck against the gaunt ribs, it was like 
turning up old Homan tiles and pottery buried in fat English loam. 
His boat’s crew were all in high excitement, eagerly helping their 
chief, and looking as anxious as gold-hunters. 
And all the time numberless fowls were diving, and ducking, and 
screaming, and yelling, and fighting around them. Stubb was begin- 
ning to look disappointed, especially as the horrible nosegay increased, 
when suddenly from out the very heart of this plague, there stole a 
faint stream of perfume, which flowed through the tide of bad smells 
without being absorbed by it, as one river will flow into and then along 
with another, without at all blending with it for a time. 
“I have it, I have it,” cried Stubb, with delight, striking, something 
in the subterranean regions; “a purse! a purse!” 
Dropping his spade, he thrust both hands in, and drew out hand- 
fuls of something that looked like ripe Windsor soap, or rich mottled 
old cheese; very unctuous and savoury withal. You might easily 
dent it with your thumb ; it is of a hue between yellow and ash colour. 
And this, good friends, is ambergris, worth a gold guinea an ounce 
to any druggist. Some six handfuls were obtained; but more was 
unavoidably lost in the sea, and still more, perhaps, might have been 
secured were it not for impatient Ahab’s loud command to Stubb to 
desist, and come on board, else the ship would bid them good-bye. 
